Various gaming devices utilizing a wireless Local Area Network (“LAN”) interface and a Network Interface Card (“NIC”) have been proposed in the past. Many gaming devices, that allow friends to gather at one real location to play a network game, use ad-hoc communications. Alternatively, a user becomes acquainted with another user over the Internet and starts a network game together. In this case, the user connects to the Internet through a wireless LAN access point or the like, and becomes acquainted with another user through information from a server or through a chat room. In the latter case, many gaming devices make use of infrastructure communication.
In ad-hoc communication, a terminal device scans another terminal device arranged in the vicinity thereof, and they exchange unique identification information, such as a MAC address. The devices use the unique identification information as a communication identifier.
In contrast, in infrastructure communication, a terminal device receives an IP address dynamically assigned from a wireless LAN access point and communicates with a server device. The IP address of the server device is unchanged in many cases. The server device notifies the IP address of another terminal device to a terminal device. Note that a port number is also used as a communication identifier in addition to the IP address.
When a wireless LAN access point functions as a router, the router performs address/port number conversion. Through this process, a global IP address and a port number are assigned to a terminal device in addition to a local IP address.
For example, Japanese patent No. 3504654 discloses a gaming system using a network.
In network games or the like, however, a participant of the games is not limited to a friend of a user. Accordingly, it is desirable to effectively prevent the user from falling in trouble with an unknown third person.
In contrast, in a system like SNS (Social Network System) where friends expressly authorize one another, operational burden is large. In particular, when a user is a child like an elementary school student or a junior high school student, it is desired to reduce the operational burden of the user as much as possible. With such a desire being satisfied, it is further desirable that users who are friends one another should advances a cooperative activity, such as a communication game or chatting together at ease.